Bookmark launches £1m appeal to bring reading ‘treasure chests’ to Ukrainian children

Bookmark Reading, a literacy charity that provides volunteer-led reading support for children, has launched an appeal to raise £1m to provide Ukrainian children arriving in the UK with book boxes.

The boxes, for children aged five to nine, will include books in Ukrainian and English, and a tablet pre-loaded with multilingual e-books, literacy or language apps and activities. 

Each will also include a SIM card to enable the child to stay in touch with their family and friends, as well as  school stationery sets, sensory games and storytelling aides for therapeutic play. So far the campaign has raised more than £260,000 of its £1m goal, with each box costing approximately £200 each to put together. 

They will be distributed through local authorities, the Association of Ukrainians and charities providing local support.

According to Bookmark Reading, an estimated two million children have already fled the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. The charity has described the boxes as “their own precious treasure chest” filled with items to help children learn, feel secure, welcome and inspired. 

In developing the pack, Bookmark has received support from publishers, authors, illustrators, technology and ed tech companies.

Sharon Pindar, chair and founder of Bookmark, told The Bookseller: “I received a lot of help and guidance from teachers and literacy experts on what children would need in this situation, quickly discovering how challenging it was to source quality Ukrainian books in the UK.

“I spoke to authors producing Ukrainian/bilingual books and one, Mark Pallis, actually translated his book into Ukrainian for us. I also spoke to publishers in Ukraine to source books from their Polish agents. I spoke with organisations who were providing support to refugee families in the UK to ensure the list of items was going to make a difference.”

She said the aim is ultimately to give Ukrainian children “a warm welcome” and help them to start a new chapter in their life. “We want to offer comfort in stories,” she said.